Democratic Alliance (D.A) councillor for Ward 17, Michelle Valentine, says the recently launched door to door campaign has so far been a success.

The project was launched at Soweto Hotel last week Monday, when the Department of Social Development, the Eldorado Park Local Drug Action Committee and social workers from various provinces met to discuss ways of assisting drug affected families. Eldorado Park Extensions 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8; Kliptown, Slovo Park, Old Klipspruit and Klipspruit Extension 1, were earmarked as priority areas.

Following the visit, Valentine says that residents have pointed out exact locations of “lolly” lounges and investigations are underway to ensure the closing of these drug dens. Residents in Extension Three however, say they still fear being vicitimised by dealers who have continued operations in the Extension Three flats. One source fearing her family’s safety, urged police to visit homes accompanied by sniffer dogs as dealers are still selling. This despite the mobile police unit situated not far from the flats, at the Kremetart Park in Extension Three.

Last week, D.A Councillor for Ward 18, Peter Rafferty, appealed to the community to work with Social Development, informing the ‘long-term drug demand programme’.

“Remember there is no quick fix to the problem but it would need the entire community to rally behind this process.

“We will also arrange a host of workshops and training that will assist in various uplifting projects,” Rafferty said.

Another door to door campaign will be held on June, 18 2013, targeting the Hilbrow Flats in Turf Road, although 250 people have already been listed with Social Development for assistance in various areas thus far.

City Power has neglected to restore another street’s power, this according to Democratic Alliance Ward 17 Councillor, Michelle Valentine.

Residents in Anietis Street, Old Eldorado Park, have reportedly been without electricity since Sunday, June, 9 2013. Among those seriously affected by power outages are residents in Klipsruit West who say regular cable theft has caused outages as frequent as four times a week.

A neighbourhood watch has been established to curb the increase of criminal activity during power outages.

Among the front line of protesters in Freedom Park last week were pupils from Freedom Park Secondary School which opened its doors in January this year.

Pupils and parents from the school say that the classrooms, which they call ‘umkhukhos’, are cold and electricity comes and goes. The school, according to them, is without running water and residents claim that they have hardly seen the two mobile toilets on the property being cleaned.

In the wake of national attention on textbooks in South Africa, Freedom Park Secondary pupils say that they are among those who are yet to receive their books. One parent said that the school is dismissed sometimes at 10am and 12pm because of the water problem and that pupils are seen carrying two litre water bottles to school every day.

“The classes are very cold and there is no water,” said one pupil dressed in school uniform.

The pupils who had not attended school during the service delivery protest last week Thursday, were among hundreds of Ward 24 residents who were protesting against PikiTup, who they allege have not collected refuse in three weeks, and alleged corruption in their ward council. The protest lasted over ten hours.

Last week Friday, spokesperson for the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), Charles Phahlane said that the department had sent an official to assess the problems at the school.

Around fifty residents living on a plot on corner Milnerton and Balfour Streets in Extension Four in Eldorado Park are yet to find the government department that owns the land.

The plot houses seven dilapidated structures and around five shacks around each property on the plot. According to Ian Plaatjies who has spearheaded efforts to find the owners of the land, residents have lived without electricity for over ten years.

The plot has one mobile toilet that according to Plaatjies, is drained by a waste management company once a week. Ward Councillor for Ward 18, Peter Rafferty says the plot was earmarked several years ago for a hospital in the area.

“The problem is that provincial government does not communicate with local government,” he said.

The property drew attention last week when Patsy Mackenzie suffered a minor head injury when bricks from her home fell on her head. Mackenzie was assisted by neighbours and suffered no serious injuries but residents say that her structure is expected to cave in any minute.

On Friday the office of the Member of the Mayoral Executive Committee’s (MEC) requested the stand number to investigate the situation in Extension Four.

Around fifty residents living on a plot on corner Milnerton and Balfour Streets in Extension Four in Eldorado Park are yet to find the government department that owns the land.

The plot houses seven dilapidated structures and around five shacks around each property on the plot. According to Ian Plaatjies who has spearheaded efforts to find the owners of the land, residents have lived without electricity for over ten years.

The plot has one mobile toilet that according to Plaatjies, is drained by a waste management company once a week. Ward Councillor for Ward 18, Peter Rafferty says the plot was earmarked several years ago for a hospital in the area.

“The problem is that provincial government does not communicate with local government,” he said.

The property drew attention last week when Patsy Mackenzie suffered a minor head injury when bricks from her home fell on her head. Mackenzie was assisted by neighbours and suffered no serious injuries but residents say that her structure is expected to cave in any minute.

On Friday the office of the Member of the Mayoral Executive Committee’s (MEC) requested the stand number to investigate the situation in Extension Four.

Police have praised residents in Eldorado Park, who according to them, assisted in fighting crime over the Easter holiday.

According to Captain Phil Khorombi, spokesperson for the police, on March, 30 residents assisted police in finding suspects involved in a hijacking. The suspects, driving a black BMW, approached the victims by gun point and instructed them to get into the boot of the hijacked vehicle. A nearby resident shouted for help and residents assisted in stopping the incident.

Referring to another incident, Khorombi said that one victim of a robbery was approached with a knife but the suspects were stopped by residents who heard the victim’s shouts.

“The SAPS are every grateful for the fact that the Eldorado Park community has now started taking a stand and working hand in hand with the police in trying to combat crime in Eldorado Park.

“The police would like to urge the community to continue helping them in this regard,” he said.

The Gauteng Department of Health has trained all its pharmacists, ordered sufficient stock for Priority 1 category patients and is ready to roll out the fixed-dose combination (FDC) of antiretrovirals from the 1st of April 2013 to all person receiving and those who are still going to be initiated on ARVs.

Fixed-dose combination of antiretroviral – emtricitabine, efavirenz and tenofovir – are multiple antiretroviral drugs combined into a single pill, which helps reduce pill burden. The Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi announced in December of 2012 of the inclusion of fixed-dose combination for use in the 1st line treatment of HIV positive people. This move, he said, is to improve adherence and patient outcomes.

“Patients will benefit from FDC because it simplifies treatment, cutting down the number of tablets that a person has to take daily,” says MEC Hope Papo. “They also allow patients to take their medication more discreetly if that is what they prefer to do. With one-pill-a-day FDC, adhering to your antiretroviral therapy is as simple as taking any other tablet.”

Initially, FDC will be produced in smaller quantities with production expected to increase over time as pharmaceutical producers expand their productive capacity. In order to phase in FDC smoothly patients have been grouped into seven (7) categories for prioritisation in the FDC initiation/switch.

The first priority groups are new patients, adults, adolescents and pregnant women, who are eligible to start antiretroviral treatment. The second priority will be all pregnant women needing triple therapy as well as breastfeeding mothers currently stable on a FDC compatible regimen. The third priority will be those who are virally suppressed currently on first line regimen requiring a switch due to toxicity of, for an example, stavudine.

The other priority groups are the following;

Priority Four: people currently stable on a FDC compatible regimen with Tuberculosis co-infection;

Priority Five: patients currently stable on a FDC compatible regimen with other illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, etc;

Priority Six: patients currently stable on Tenofovir Disoproxil Formulate (TDF)-based regimen and who request a switch to a FDC; and

Priority Seven: patients currently stable on TDF-based regimen who, after counseling, agree to a switch to a FDC.

The fixed dose combination is one pill to be taken once daily in the place of 3 daily tablets (tenofovir, emtricitabine and efavirenz). Although the FDC is ‘one pill once a day’, it does contain three different ARV medications.

“It is easy to take, highly effective and in no way inferior to taking three individual drugs,” explains MEC Hope Papo.

Most patients initiating the FDC, he continued, should not encounter problems, but if they experience any significant side effects, they are urged to consult the healthcare provider. Although the FDC is a larger tablet, it is not significantly larger than any usual tablet; therefore swallowing should not create problems. “There is no liquid FDC formulation currently on the market. Crushing or dissolving the FDC, which undermines bio-equivalence, should be avoided.”

“We have emphasized the need to counsel all patients, especially the stable ones, who are not included in the priority groups for the FDC so that they understand why they are not being switched to an easier option,” concluded MEC Papo.

The Eldorado Park Sports Council will be hosting a general meeting with wards 11, 17, 18, and 19 in Klipsruit West; Freedom Park, Bushkoppies, Nancefield, Naturena, and Slovo Park. The meeting will take place at the Don Mateman Hall at 19H00.

All sports federations, sports codes, youth and development organisations, NGOs ,NPOs, music and dance academies are to register with the Greater Sports Council.

Goesain Rasdien, chairperson of the Council, commented saying, “we request all the federations ,organisations and sports codes to show support and interest in this initiative and to appeal to the public to come forward and serve on the various committees. We need to stand together as a community for a better future in sports”.

Katyah Rosenburg-Stiglingh (15) and Simone Vandeyar (17) were reported missing yesterday afternoon. Both girls are learners at Topaz Secondary School in Lenasia, and were last seen at school, both still wearing their school uniform.

If anyone has any information about their whereabouts or has seen them, please contact: